The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer- Book Review

The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My life at Rose Red, is a novel created solely for marketing for the movie Rose Red. Story is loosely on the Winchester House, a true haunted house. The book is written as a diary with dates all from the point of view of Ellen Rimbauer.

The Plot

Ellen Rimbauer is the wife of John Rimbauer, a President of an oil company and twice her age. On their year long honeymoon, and for John business, Ellen gets deathly ill in Africa. She is cured by Sukeena who after proving her worth is hired on as a hand maid to Ellen.

When Ellen, John and Sukeena return to Seattle it is to John's wedding gift to Ellen the house called Rose Red. Life seems to be troubling as the house takes women inside her and kills men it doesn't like. Despite the house, claiming victims Ellen has 2 children a healthy boy named Adam and a girl with a withered arm named April. As the family grows and the house grows(as construction is never halted due to a medium stating the house must be built forever), the more people who are mysteriously killed and taken. Will the house ever stop turning the Rimbauer's life into chaos?

My Review

I have seen the movie Rose Red and to be honest this book is not as interesting. I did like Ellen slowly going crazy and doing the house's bidding but I mostly just felt sorry for her. Her relationship with her husband is terrible, she tries and fails to replace him with their kids. The house seldom does scary things so most pages are on the relationship between the cheating husband and the lady who is stuck in the house. I give this an 6/10 I read to the end but unsure if I'll read again.